Ellen von Unwerth
4 catalogued objects connected to Ellen von Unwerth.
Biography
Person.
Ellen von Unwerth is a German photographer and former model whose work helped give 1990s fashion imagery a more playful, performative and visibly female point of view. After a decade in front of the camera, she moved behind it and achieved a breakthrough in 1989 with photographs of the then little-known Claudia Schiffer, first for German Elle and then in the Guess campaign that helped propel both model and photographer to international prominence.
Von Unwerth’s pictures frequently replace the cool distance of conventional fashion photography with movement, humour, eroticism and exaggerated character: women laugh, dance, pose badly on purpose, play roles and appear to participate in the construction of the image rather than simply submit to it.
Reviewed 2026-08-19Selected sources
- British Vogue — Ellen von Unwerth interviewVon Unwerth’s transition from modelling to photography, 1989 breakthrough with Claudia Schiffer and Guess, and her development as a major fashion photographer.
- Phillips — Ellen von UnwerthHer 1989 rise with the Claudia Schiffer Guess campaign, prior modelling career, photobooks and international exhibition history.
- Phillips — Ultimate: Ellen von UnwerthHer major editorial clients including Vogue, Vanity Fair, Interview, The Face and i-D, and work across advertising, music video and film.
PER-49ED56E3BEBC4DDD
Represented across objects dated 1994–2003.
Search these objects →